CNN: Pediatrician: Use science, not politics, to reopen schools

CNN: Pediatrician: Use science, not politics, to reopen schools

As COVID-19 numbers continue to increase, Governments all around the nation are beginning to reopen schools for the Fall school year:

The American Academy of Pediatrics made headlines recently over our return to school guidance, which recommended that that students be "physically present in school" as much as safely possible. Understandably, this topic has captured national attention. So much is at stake, including the health and safety of children, teachers, staff, and their families.

However, there are many factors that factor into how safe it is for everyone to go back to school:

 Teachers and staff need to feel comfortable and safe when teaching our children. Schools will need to follow guidance from public health officials and adhere to health monitoring and cleaning/disinfecting protocols, have sufficient personal protective equipment for teachers, staff and students, implement new procedures for transporting students to school, ensure that students competing in athletics and other extracurricular activities are safe, adjust staffing schedules, and put protocols in place for how a school responds when a student or teacher tests positive for Covid-19.

Schools need help to make this happen -- but President Trump threatened to withhold federal funds from schools that do not reopen in the fall. It's not fair.

While COVID-19 impacts disadvantaged and impoverished communities at an alarming rate, the move to withhold federal funds will impact those communities disproportionately to other places:

Almost $30 billion, the bulk of federal funding for elementary and secondary schools, is focused on disadvantaged students — either those from low-income families or those needing special education. Any cuts would put already financially strapped schools in an impossible position that would endanger the very people we are trying to protect.

These decisions are not scientifically recommended. This is all apart of "We want you to go back because you want you to." and not "We think it's safer this way."

In the middle of a pandemic we need to make better decisions for our children. The decision to reopen schools as premature as we opened the country will have devastating impacts.